Netanyahu spokesman 'takes leave' after 12 sex misconduct accusations

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he will take a leave of absence "to clear my name" after a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him.

David Keyes, Netanyahu's spokesman for international media who has been interviewed regularly on television, was notably accused in recent days of sexual assault by Julia Salazar, a candidate for the New York state senate in the United States.

"In light of the false and misleading accusations against me and in order not to distract from the important work of the prime minister, I have asked to take time off to clear my name," Keyes said in a statement.

"I am fully confident that the truth will come out."

Salazar has received criticism in the course of her campaign over inconsistencies in details about other parts of her life she has shared.

She said this week that she had decided to speak out after receiving information that the Daily Caller was about to publish an article outing her as the source of the 2016 accusation, which was originally reported anonymously in the Israeli press.

"Before this runs, I want to come forward and confirm that I was a victim of sexual assault by David Keyes – the Prime Minister of Israel's spokesperson to foreign media," she wrote on Twitter.

A second woman, Wall Street Journal reporter Shayndi Raice, came forward hours later and publicly accused Keyes of misconduct.

"I also had a terrible encounter with David Keyes once and 100% believe [Salazar]. I knew this would come out about him at some point," she wrote on Twitter.

"The man had absolutely no conception of the word 'no.' No matter how often I said no, he would not stop pushing himself on me," Raice continued.

"I was able to extricate myself quickly and it was a very brief and uncomfortable moment but I knew as I walked away I had encountered a predator."

On Thursday, The Times of Israel news site reported that 11 other women had also accused Keyes, 34, of inappropriate behaviour.

Ten of the woman spoke to the news site on condition of anonymity. Wall Street Journal reporter Shayndi Raice went public with accusations against Keyes.

"The man had absolutely no conception of the word 'no'," she said on Twitter.

Sources said allegations of misconduct against Keyes had been made before he was appointed Netanyahu's spokesman in 2016.

One woman who spoke to The Times of Israel accused Keyes of "physically aggressive" behaviour that could be considered sexual assault.

In emails obtained by The Times of Israel, Keyes apologised to two women for being "less than gentlemanly."

Other women described encounters with Keyes as either "aggressive, offensive, overly flirtatious or otherwise inappropriate."

Before joining Netanyahu's office, US-born Keyes was executive director of New York-based Advancing Human Rights, an NGO which sought to assist dissidents in oppressive countries.  

Sources told the Israeli news site that allegations of Keye's inappropriate behaviour toward women was so well-known that he was asked to stay away from certain offices he used to visit in New York.